New drugs target C.diff superbug

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C. diff - or Clostridium difficile - is a superbug that can cause major problems in hospitals. It leads to life-threatening diarrhoea and intestinal inflammation in patients who catch it, it spreads easily, and patients who do recover often relapse many times afterwards because the spectrum of so-called “good bacteria” in the bowel also goes off-kilter when you treat the infection. What’s needed are highly-targeted antibiotics that can hit exclusively C. diff and not affect the good bacteria that we need to keep us healthy. Luckily, Sheffield University’s Joe Kirk is on the case...